It Wasn't Meant To Be This Way
by Crimson Rhage
Summary: O/S Four children met on a train as they headed towards their new school. During the short ride they became the best of friends and swore to themselves that they would stay together no matter what. Will that promise be able to survive the realities of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Will they be able to stay together no matter the color of their ties? Complete


Four children, just eleven years old, sat together in a train car. Each one was excited for the journey that they were just beginning, a journey of magic, of excitement, of adventure. These children, two boys and two girls, sat together, talking and having fun. They shared their fears and their excitement, eagerly talking about what their favorite class would be or what spell they hoped to learn. Despite having just met, they all felt that they were the best of friends.

The four stuck together as they made their way from the train to boats that would ferry them across the lake. They sat together and all exclaimed at the beauty and magnificence of the castle they now called their school. They whispered excitedly about all the places they could explore together.

As they were led into the hall filled with students and teachers staring at them, but more than that, filled with _magic_, they just stared at each other in shared joy and excitement about what was to come. They were eager but scared for their sorting, not wanting to be separated. However, they smiled at each other, reassured that their friendship would not be broken.

This is how it was meant to be.

* * *

Four words, four directions, and thus the children became separated.

* * *

The boy settled at the Slytherin table and was greeted with small smiles and nods from his housemates. Even without the loud cheering that the Gryffindors were doing, the boy felt welcomed by the other children and he smiled happily. However, when he clapped as each of his other three friends were sorted, his housemates eyed him warily. They didn't say anything, though, and the boy spent the feast talking with his new year mates, enjoying the world play that many of them used. They bantered back and forth, never as rowdy as the table of red and gold, but still enjoying themselves greatly.

The Slytherin common room was beautiful. The room reflected the wealth that many of its members were born from but was still comfortable; a place they could relax at the end of the day. The boy followed along with the others as they were led to the front of the common room so the prefects could talk with them.

The child frowned as they were told about the house rivalries, how the other houses despised Slytherins and would attack them any chance they could. They were warned to stay together, to protect each other, because in the end their housemates were all they had. They talked about how biased they teachers were, how Slytherins always were blamed if anything went wrong, how they had to do their best in their classes and not give the professors any reason to suspect them. The prefects looked at him specifically when they warned that old friends would become new enemies once they were sorted into the other houses and that it was better to harden yourself to those outside these walls. They were told to not show their pain, to not let hateful words break their masks as it would only give them pleasure.

The boy listened to all he was told and while he was worried, he didn't believe that the friendships he made with the others were so weak. He was sure that something as silly as the color of their ties or the animal on their robes wouldn't separate them so easily.

The next day he stood outside of the Potions classroom, excited for his first lesson. The other Slytherins stood with him as they talked quietly about what they could expect for their first class with their head of house. Their conversations were interrupted by the loud group of Gryffindors that came down the hallway, laughing and joking with each other.

When the Gryffindors spotted the Slytherins the laughing and joking stopped, replaced by ugly sneers across young faces. The boy was surprised by the hateful words and insults, despite what he was told the night before. One boy, one lion, remained silent and the young Slytherin felt hope as he looked at his friend. He gave a shy smile and a wave from the middle of his year mates.

"You slimy traitor! You tricked us into trying to like you, but you are nothing but an evil snake! I would never be friends with such a dark Slytherin!"

The boy jerked back in surprise and pain at the words from his friend. He didn't understand. Not even 24 hours earlier they were laughing and joking together. How could he turn on him so suddenly just because his tie was green and not red? How could he be so cruel because his crest contained a snake instead of a lion? Neither of them was different from the night before, so why were they no longer friends?

His heart hurt as the other Slytherin's closed ranks around him, protecting him as much as they could from the harsh words, as they mocked the Gryffindors in retaliation. The child did not give up, however. He was warned that Gryffindors were the worst, so he held out hope for his two other friends.

They met the Hufflepuffs next, in the hallway on their way to the Great Hall for lunch. Every single Hufflepuff looked at them in fear, even _her_. They looked at the Slytherins like they might attack them any minute and as a group ran for the doors and the protection of the Great Hall. He stayed silent as the other first years laughed at the stupid duffers. His heart hurt even worse, but he refused to show his pain.

That evening he met the last of his friends in the library as she studied with several of her other housemates. When several of his own housemates found a table, he didn't sit down with them but instead moved to the table of Ravenclaws. He felt hope swell when she greeted him with a polite hello. It wasn't as warm or as excited as the day before, but there was no hate or fear, so the boy was happy. All of that hope, all of those happy feelings, drained away when he asked if he could join them. Another boy with an eagle on his chest told him with a haughty expression that they were studying advanced material that he probably wouldn't be able to understand and that it would be better if he went to study with his own housemates at his own level. He looked at his friend, but she just looked down and fiddled with her book until he gave up and left.

As he sat down with the other Slytherins he felt his heart harden, refusing to be in so much pain again. His housemates were there, helping him and comforting him, proving that they truly were the only ones he could trust. If this is what the other three wanted, then so be it.

The years passed and the boy passed down his own warnings to the newest students as he remembered his own pain and betrayal at the hands of those that claimed to be his friends. He warned them to only trust the other Slytherins in the hopes that he could save them from their own pain.

It was not meant to be this way.

* * *

The young boy settled down at the Gryffindor table happy with all that had happened so far. He made three great friends on the ride to his new school and was now sorted into the house of the courageous. Besides, red was his favorite color! He waved happily to his friend that was already sorted into Slytherin when he clapped at his sorting, but his housemates' reactions were unexpected. They asked him why he was waving to a slimy snake, and didn't he know that they were all evil?

He explained to them how they were friends from the train ride, along with two girls who were yet to be sorted. The older years just looked at him with sorrow and at the Slytherin table in anger. They waited until the sorting was finished before they explained how he was tricked by the dirty Slytherin, how they were never friends with anyone outside of their house. From there it divulged into stories about the older years attacking first years, of hospital visits and pain. He listened as they talked of the pranks they could play on the evil snakes.

That night, once he went to his dorms with the other Gryffindor boys, he listened as they were sympathetic with him for almost being tricked by a snake. They told him that tomorrow they could show him and the other snakes that they weren't fooled by their tricks and that no true Gryffindor would be friends with a no good Slytherin. And the boy didn't know what to think. He had thought that they were good friends, them and the two girls. He thought their friendship was meant to be, his first friends at his new school. But now his housemates were saying something different. He settled into a troubled sleep, unsure of what tomorrow would bring.

During breakfast the next morning they got their time tables from their head of house and eagerly looked to see what their first class would be. There were a lot of groans at having potions first, especially from those that had older siblings and heard horror stories about potions class. None of the other first years were happy about sharing the class with the Slytherins either.

The boy was nervous but didn't say anything. He still wasn't sure about how to act around his Slytherin friend that might not really be his friend. As they walked down to the dungeons, he tried to keep up with the conversation around him as his housemates laughed and joked around. He was the first to notice the Slytherins that were all quietly standing together next to the classroom door, a stark contrast to the loud lions.

When the other Gryffindors finally noticed the now silent snakes, they stopped the happy laughter and started spewing insults. The boy didn't really understand. The others were just standing their silently, they weren't doing anything back. They weren't attacking or being 'evil', so why were his housemates acting like this?

Suddenly his eyes met his friends and he saw the little wave and shy smile. Unfortunately, so did the other Gryffindors. The boy could see them from the corners of his eyes, staring between the two and looking at him with expectant expressions. He could hear their silent encouragement and remembered all that he was told the night before.

And the boy, just a child of 11 years, gave into the peer pressure of those he would have to live with for the next seven years. He spoke the words they wanted to hear and did his best to ignore the pain in those betrayed eyes even as the Slytherins closed ranks and began to retaliate. He let go of this friendship and all that it could have been, he gave up the chance for more to please those around him. And his heart hurt as he was congratulated for 'putting that lying snake in his place' but even his young mind knew there was no going back. Still, he held out hope for his other two friends and hoped they would not hate him as well for his actions in regards to their Slytherin friend.

Their next class was Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and the boy was eager to put the bad memories behind him and talk with one of his other friends. He was excited to learn about what it was like in another house. Once more the boy was more like the one that had ridden the train with three friends, before they were sorted and torn apart.

He left the group of Gryffindors and walked to the huddle of puffs. She noticed him right away and smiled happily at him. They talked for a few minutes, sharing stories of their first night at the castle before they were allowed into the greenhouse. As he went to sit with his friend, a few of the boys in his dorm dragged him away, telling him that he didn't want to sit with one of the useless puffs. He looked back apologetically and mouthed the word 'sorry'. She seemed to accept his apology, but the other badgers looked angry and she was quickly swallowed into the protective group. As the weeks passed, the two were unable to become closer as their housemates constantly separated them, and in the end the boy settled for the few idle conversations in class or a wave in the hallway as the passed each other. Their chance for a close friendship was gone and settled into a loose acquaintance, nothing more.

Tuesday night in the library was the first time he was able to meet his other friend since so far, they hadn't had any classes together. She was at one of the study tables with what seemed to be all the other Ravenclaw first years. He personally didn't understand the constant need to study. He was only in the library because his first homework assignment was due the next day and one of the older years suggested a book to help him out.

He approached the table, intent on greeting his friend and hoping it went better than the last two times. She was deeply concentrated on her book and didn't notice his approach, but one of the other girls did. She looked at him like a bug that dared come into her house. Before he even got a chance to speak, she sneered at him angrily.

"Go away, Gryffindor, we are not doing your homework for you. Gather the few brain cells you Gryffindors possess and do your own work."

The boy glared at the insult and noticed that his friend didn't even look up from her book. Angrily he turned around and stomped off, completely forgetting about the book he had intended to get. If the stupid bookworms wanted to be that way, then so be it. He was better off without her forcing him to study every second anyways. At least the Gryffindors liked playing exploding snap and talked about quidditch with him.

Even as he stormed back to his common room, a small voice, a hurt voice, sounded in the back of his mind.

It wasn't meant to be this way.

* * *

The young girl moved happily to the table of cheering housemates, even as she felt a small twinge of disappointment that the two boys were placed in other houses. She knew that their other friend would become a Ravenclaw, the other girl had far too many books to be anything but. She was excited though to have a friend in each of the other houses. She thought it would be great. For now, though, she focused on her new housemates that all greeted her warmly and the young girl could already see them becoming like a family. This was proven as they talked through the night, the older years giving tips and tricks to help the young ones out.

She was nervous when they warned them about the Slytherins and that it was always best to stick together. They were told that the badgers appeared to be easy targets and a lot of the Slytherins would try to bully them in the hallways. The prefects told them that the first years could always come to them for help if they needed, that the house of badgers always stuck together and helped each other out.

The ominous words didn't dampen her spirit too much and she was eager for classes the next day so she could talk to her other friends and see how their own night went. She was especially curious about the other common rooms, were they as cozy as the Hufflepuff den was?

The next day they started with Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. One of the prefects led them to their class so they wouldn't get lost on their first day. The prefect would be back at the end to lead them to the grounds for their second class out in the greenhouses. They were warned however that since the greenhouses were so far away from the main castle a prefect wouldn't be able to make it out there after their own class. They weren't worried though since they had lunch after that class and were all confident they could make it to the Great Hall on their own.

The eagles were all talking excitedly about the upcoming lesson, discussing what they could expect and what they might learn. The girl smiled and went to her other friend that greeted her eagerly as well. They spoke to each other about their houses and learned that the two were quite different from the sound of it. As they walked into the classroom she asked if they could meet up later that night to talk some more.

"I'm sorry, I can't. My house has mandatory study groups for all years and so I will be with my housemates all night. Maybe later we can get together?"

She agreed easily, sad that they wouldn't get to talk more that day but completely unsurprised that the Ravenclaws made studying a mandatory activity. She would spend time with her own housemates or maybe with one of the boys, depending on their own schedule.

Unfortunately for the two girls, 'later' seemed to never come. There was the constant excuse of studying or doing homework or some other prior obligation within their own house. They were still able to talk before their shared classes, but slowly drifted apart as time moved on. As strong as their friendship started, it slowly withered and died with neither girl noticing.

After transfiguration they walked with their prefect down to the entrance doors while talking excitedly about the professor being an animagus and how she turned her desk into a pig so easily. The prefect laughed and joked with them before pointing to the greenhouse and sending them on their way. The weather was still nice and the first years enjoyed the walk down to the greenhouse, excited to see how their head of house would be as a professor.

They heard the rowdy Gryffindors long before they got there and the girl was happy when her friend left the group of lions and made his way over to the badgers. They talked excitedly as well, and the shy girl was happy that so far two of her friends were still her friends even after their sorting.

She was planning on sharing a table with he boy and two of her housemates when a few other Gryffindors came and dragged him off to a different table while insulting the Hufflepuffs. He looked ashamed of his housemates and mouthed a silent apology. While hurt by the words, she accepted his apology since he didn't say anything mean and took solace in her housemates as they worked to cheer her up. Sadly, this seemed to be the trend with her Gryffindor friend. They would talk a bit before class but one of his housemates was always quick to draw him back into the lion pride while idly insulting the Hufflepuffs. They seemed to talk less and less as they were pressured by their housemates and soon were nothing more than acquaintances. She mourned the loss of friendship, but badgers stuck together, and she made many new friends in her own house that helped with the pain of losing one of her first friends.

As the students left the greenhouse, the Gryffindors raced away, eager for lunch, but the badgers calmly made their way back to the castle, feeling no need to tire themselves out by running uphill. They were almost to the castle when a group of older Slytherin boys came out of the doors and looked at the first years with evil smiles.

"What did I tell you, boys? I knew the little duffers would be walking back from Herbology, all alone and defenseless." The others laughed and a different boy spoke up.

"I say we help the little duffers by teaching them a lesson about knowing their place!"

The girl was scared as she huddled in closer with her other housemates. She held her wand tightly, just like the others, but was unsure what she could do with it. This was their first day! Unless there was a match she could turn into a needle, her wand was mostly useless. The older Slytherins were beginning to circle them like predator to prey and were just beginning to lift their wands when their head of house came walking up, while yelling at the Slytherins and telling them she wanted them in her office right now.

She was relieved along with the other Hufflepuffs and they quickly made their way inside towards the great hall. Before they could make it though another group of students came up the stairs towards them. All any of them saw were the green ties and the fear from before came back. Without truly looking at the group, the first-year badgers all ran for the Great Hall with the sound of jeering laughter following them.

If the girl looked back, she would have seen her friend looking at her in confused betrayal. She would have seen his look of pain and the hard mask that he hid behind. Sadly, she never did look back and so was confused when after that her Slytherin friend looked at her coldly before ignoring her. She didn't understand why, but fear of the Slytherins kept her from ever asking. With one misunderstanding, their friendship died before it ever had a chance.

It wasn't meant to be this way.

* * *

The newest Ravenclaw walked to her table with a proud smile on her face, still preening from the words of the sorting hat. She knew she was intelligent and was happy the hat recognized that as well. She was also happy to be with housemates that also understood her desire to learn. As the last of her new friends to be sorted, she was sad to see they each went to a different house, but the research possibilities that opened up were pretty great.

The Ravenclaw common room had to be any bookworm's dream with the walls being filled with bookshelves and the many study areas and cozy reading areas spread around. It was almost like a mini library! She was also happy to learn about the study groups and how one hour every weeknight and three hours on Saturday one of the older years would sit down with them and answer any questions about whatever topic they wanted as well as to teach them new spells. It was perfect and everything she had hoped for!

After that was a warning that a lot of the other students, especially the Gryffindors, tried to get the eagles to do their homework or to use their notes. They were told that cheating like that was not acceptable, even if they tried to trade friendship for homework. It wasn't worth it. She took the words to heart, angered that someone would try to use her for her work. She smiled again when her housemates had similar angry expressions. This truly was the right place for her.

Their first class was exciting and challenging. She was happy when her Hufflepuff friend came up to her and they were able to easily talk about the previous night. The girl was a bit disappointed when she had to decline the offer to meet up that night since she knew she had their first study group. She reassured herself, however, that there would be other nights. She didn't notice as one night became two, and then a week, then a month. There was just so much to learn and so many books to read. Her housemates studied together almost every night and had debates about different magical aspects. It was just so perfect that she didn't notice the distance growing between the two girls, didn't notice that it had been months since that first night. She didn't notice how often the excuse 'maybe later' was used and how 'later' never came. Only a small part noticed as their friendship slipped away as it was constantly pushed to the side for something else.

While studying in the library the girl never noticed the approach of her Gryffindor friend. The book on the different types of charms and the categories they fell into was far too fascinating to bother to look up at approaching footsteps. She heard one of her dorm mates tell off some Gryffindor for trying to get them to do their homework. It was the third one that night! She huffed at the annoyance of the Gryffindors and continued reading. It would be some time before the excitement of new knowledge would wear off and the young girl would think of her Gryffindor friend. By then, it was too late. Their friendship was gone.

The first night at the castle she met her Slytherin friend in the library. The other first years in green and silver seemed to have the same idea as the eagles as they settled down to study together. When her friend came over to the table, she easily greeted him. She was about to agree with his request to join them when one of the boys from her year reacted with anger. She was surprised, not really understanding the anger of her fellow eagle. They weren't studying material all that advanced, and she was sure her Slytherin friend would be able to easily keep up. However, she didn't think it was fair to her friend to make him sit in a hostile environment just so they could talk. He would probably be happier if he sat with his own housemates, so she kept her head down and looked sadly after him as he walked away.

Even with all the amazing things to learn, a part of her was sad. The part that had made three great friends that were now lost to her.

It wasn't meant to be this way.

* * *

Way up high, four figures stood as they looked down on their creation. It was their pride and joy. They worked so hard to create a safe place for the children of the wizarding world. A place where they could learn without fear of being prosecuted. A place where they could celebrate being a witch or wizard, where they were among those who understood them.

The four friends stood watching over their school, helpless to act as the very thing they stood for became corrupted and twisted over time. They could do nothing as the children turned on one another instead of helping each other as they should. How could it have gotten this way? How could everything be so twisted and wrong?

Each of the four shed tears in anger, frustration, and sadness as they looked over the results of their every hope and dream.

_It wasn't meant to be this way._


End file.
